Protectobot Fundraiser
Central Park Encircled by water, the city that never sleeps has been forced to grow up instead of out, and the Canyons of Steel are steeper than ever, their metal spires a striking contrast against the seeming wilderness of the park. To the south sprawls the tangle of downtown Manhattan, the massive United Nations complex now rising high to rival the skyscraping Empire State building. The sloping glass wall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, repository of many of Earth's greatest art treasures, reflects the sunlit sky on the east side of the Park. Crowds throng the park no matter the weather, walking, hoverboarding, playing or simply relaxing. Wide open spaces combine with stretches of crowded pines and maples. Hot Spot is standing behind one of the tables assembled in the parking lot, placing sheets of freshly baked cookies and shepard's pie. The Protectobot Command looks oddly at the combination and makes a mental note to ask Groove why he felt chocolate chip and mashed potatoes go together? The light blue bot shrugs the thought to the side, blinking his optics a couple of times. "Two more sheets Groove, and we should be good for now." Hot Spot meanders his way over to First Aid, "Would you mind setting up the dunk-tank?" Blades is standing over in the other corner, carving pumpkins in the likeness of him... ...standing over a pile of defeated enemies. Just then Groove bumps into him with another tray of shepard's pie... ...spilling the contents all over the only aerial Protectobot and causing him to shred his 'work' to tiny bits. Blades starts to chase around the happy-go-lucky Groove. First Aid was checking over things, till Hot Spot made his way over to him, "Ofcourse." He said with a nod of his head, and then went to work setting up the dunk-tank. It was a rather easy matter, after all-- he was one of the doctor's of the Autobot faction and really--Dunk Tanks were a simple human contraption! How hard could this be? Well-- so long as no one decides to run in knock something out of alignment, so-- First Aid was very careful to make sure everything was aligned bit by bit, before assembling the next part. Lee-Zard is here to save the day! The bright green gecko machine come rolling in, driving on his custom Lee-Zard Mobile scooter he cobbled together when he gut turned into a human a few months ago. It still works just as well, and even seems to have undergone a few improvements in the mean time. "OK! No need to panic, Me, Lee-Zard is here! Tadaa!" Firestar is over in another part of the parking lot, guiding in truck with rides being towed in. "Hey Hot Spot! Where didja want the Tilt-a-whirl, Sugah!?" She says loudly over to him as other trucks pull in. From afar, Firestar goes for a carnival theme. hehehehe Andi Lassiter looks over from where she's helping set up for the fun raiser. "Lee! Good to see you....did you drive that scooter all the way from San Francisco?" Skydive is doing his part as well. Setting up the scale for his assignment which is 'Guess Your Weight!'. He is currently measuring the area to find that right fit for the equipment. Hot Spot points over to the far side of the parking lot. "Right there is fine Firestar, just make sure everything is secured properly... ...can't afford a PR disaster right now." The Protectobot Commander makes his way back over to the 'pumpkin' display. He sets his hands on his hips, tapping his foot in the motherly fashion. "This isn't the idea you submitted to me Blades." A homeless man dressed in rags approaches Andi with his hands out, "Spare some change for a former Constructicon... ...?" "Faster than a speedin' bullet, able to leap deep puddles with a single bound!" Lee-Zard exclaims, swerving his scooter and alongside his lifelong friend Andi. "Nono, that be too far, even for my lean green scooter machine. Me took an aeroplane! Mebbe me needs to make the scoooter fly. But, that not be important. How you be, Andi? Me not see you in a while!" Skirting around the Autobots and hyoomans, a small floating alien fish investigates the food. It wrinkles its snout. "Ewww, shepherds pie," the fish snorts, in a voice three octaves higher than Wheelie, "That's homeless persons' food." He looks pointedly at the homeless guy and then at Hot Spot. Firestar nods to Hot Spot, then starts directing traffic at the back of the parking lot. Tilt-a-whirl, haunted house, a few other odds and ends. As everyone gets set up...and that part of the parking lot closed, she walks her way back towards the front towards Hot Spot. "The Rides are being set up now." She then waves to Andi. "hey Theah sugah! Glad you could join us!" Hearing some of the ruckus behind him, First Aid glances over his shoulder as his visor flickers slight, but he goes back to work, till he does a minor double take, "..Andi?" He smiles behind that face-plate of his. Then he finishes up his work, before he calls over to Hot Spot, "The Dunking Tank is done." Before he stands up nad makes his way over to Andi Lassister. Hot Spot just shakes his head when Blades and Groove continue to chase eachother around in circles, turning around and approaching the dunk tank for a closer inspection. "Ah, nice work First Aid. Top notch job. Likewise Firestar, don't know what'd we do without you here... ..." The Protectobot Commander looks Lee-Zard up and down real quick like before giving a courteous wave. "Hey there, welcome..." the other hand motioning behind him to a big banner that reads. PROTECTOBOT FUND RAISER Skydive begins to set his station up precisly. He sets the scale down then moves it...twice. Then on to placing the items on the booth... The homeless man begins eyeing the floating fish, "Hrm... ...pretty hungry for trout... ...yes, we knows it's raw... ...squirmy and fresh... ...just how the preciousssss like's it!" Lee-Zard offers a big lizardy grin to Hot Spot as the big blue Protectobot leader notices the lil' green gecko. "Yepyep, me heard about the fundraiser and wanted to help! Me always likes to help, although me never ever ever did a fundraiser before. What can me do to help out?" However as First Aid makes it over, he notices the homeless guy looking for some money. As a protectobot he is offered to comply to such a request, though he is also aware that some humans act this out and some-- use the money they are given for the wrong purpose. Then The Homeless guy talks about eating the alien, so The Doctor speaks up, "..If you are hungry, I can get you something. After all, we do have some food here, I'm sure we can be willing to give you." The homeless man nods up and down at First Aid, but never takes his eyes off of the fish. "Yeah... ...sure, food's good. So is money. Tell ya what, you give me a bit of both... ...I'll let you in on a secret." The whole time, his attention is directed at the fish... ...then he wets himself. The Fish glowers at the homeless guy. "Whatever, Gollum," the fish says dismissively, then rises into the air higher than the homeless dude can reach. Then the fish's snout wrinkles again. "Eww! Someone get him a change of clothes. Or wash him off." Hot Spot chuckles. "Well for starters, you can park your bike behind back... over there." he replies, pointing back behind a ajoining parkinglot. "Then we'll see if you can do something else, alright?" First Aid was about to respond to that, till something else got his attention, he glanced over to the distance for a moment as his optical band flickered gently. Something had the Doctor's attention-- what it was, was unknown, perhaps something on the radio band. Andi Lassiter smiles at Lee, then doesn't reply when the little Junkion turns to chat with Hot Spot. By now, a crowd has gathered in front of the assorted booths here. Each person peaking over the others, trying to get a better view of the situation. Lee-Zard grins again at the tall blue Hot Spot, and says to Andi, "Me be back in a sec!" Before starting up his scooter and putputputting his way around back to park his scooter. The little quadruped then scampers back to the crowd of taller Transformers and not-so-taller people, but the agile little guy isn't going to be caught underneath anyone's feet. Firestar trots her way over towards Andi. "Andi! How're you doing, Sugah?" She says looking down towards Andi....she then waves over towards the crowd. "Greetings! Welcome to the Protectobot Fund Raiser! You can win nice little gifts in the games here!" She then leans towards hot Spot. "DO we have some sort of raffle going on?" Hot Spot says, "Ah yes, the tickets are behind the dunk tank... ...twenty cents a ticket." "Fundraiser? So is this, like, by donation?" the Fish asks. First Aid looks over to the Fish, "That would be correct." Then First Aid walks back over to the dunk tank, to just well, double check it. The homeless man follows First Aid once again. "I thought this was a PROTECTOBOT thing? Why ain't you helping me man?" he yells out, drawing the attention of the crowd. Whether it's his statement, the stench, or him scratching his privates that draws said attention; is anyone's guess. "BRB," the fish says, then dives into the nearest pond. A few minutes later the fish resurfaces and "air-swims" back over to the Protectobots and humans. The fish spits out a handful of quarters, plus the odd nickel and dime. "Good enough?" he asks. Andi Lassiter says, "Hi there, Firestar. How are you doing to...." She pauses in mid-sentence to look over at the homeless man then up at the...fish? Interesting. "Lee, I've been doing pretty well. How about you? I haven't had a chance to talk to you since what whole goo incident." The homeless man proceeds to cling on to First Aid's leg. "I'm hungry man! Gimme some money fer booze!" The fundraiser is in full swing now, civilians are lining the streets that have been graciously closed off by the city of New York. As well, New York's finest are patroling the crowd... ...looking for anything out of place. One small boy around the age of fourteen comes up to Andi and Firestar. "Why is there tomato in my chocolate chip cookie?" Andi Lassiter blinks at the boy. "There's what in your cookie?" "To-ma-to... ...ya know, what they use to make ketchup? Geez, i'd expect the stupidity from them robots, not a /real/ person." the little boy replies. First Aid looks down at the homeless people starting to gather around him. It was like-- they came out of the wood-works, like some CHUD from a horrid movie or Grimlins. He kinda stares at them all, before he goes to move then finds he has a homeless man on his leg. His visor dims for a moment-- correct.. Night of the Living Homeless... "I a fear I can not give you money for booze since it is the wrong use for such things, however, I can go into the back and get you all something to eat.. if you, dear sir, would be so kind to leg go of my leg." The homeless man just tightens his grip, not that First Aid would really notice or anything. "Oh did I say booze? I meant a hot shower and a suit for my job interview... ...yeah, that's what I said robot!" Andi Lassiter gives the boy one of those "Don't get cheeky with me, kid" looks. "Let me see the cookie." The boy spits out the remainders of the cookie on Andi's shoe before running back into the crowd. "Haha!" Andi Lassiter says, "Agh! Little Punk. Firestar, would you kindly bring that young man back over here so I can remind him of the value of good manners?" Firestar does so.....doesn't take long either since she's at least 30 feet tall and a human boy can't run THAT fast..... As if responding to Andi's thought and comment, a police officer approaches them with the little boy in tow. "Did this kid do something?" First Aid glances upward, his sensors telling him exactly where the human was.. and then-- distress toward Andi. He let out a sigh, opened a wrist compartment before he gave the human ten dollars. "There.." Then very carefully, which yes, he could do very carefully, thanks to his ability to work on laser-cores, removes the human from his leg and then walks around a few stacked boxes and seems to vanish, because well-- being around Ratchet did teach him a few tricks.. Yes, the way of the Ninja Medic. Skydive finally gets set up and takes as eat behind the booth and calls out, "Can I guess your weight?!? You Bet?!?! Come on over, challenge the autobot to guess your weight!" Before First Aid can 'dissapear', the homeless man whispers into his 'ear'... ...or at least the side of the head where it would be if he was human. "Psst... ...by the way, I used to be cybertronian just like you." Andi Lassiter looks at the police officer gratefully. "Yes, sir. He apparently thought it would amusing to spit food at me." Firestar stands behind Andi and watches the scene unfold in front of the woman... "While it's very impolite, I don't think I can charge him formally for it ma'am... ...plus it'd be a hassle to do so. I think an apology will suffice, right?" the police officer asks Andi. The homeless man then approaches Firestar, tugging at her leg with a grimey hand. Andi Lassiter nods. "Yes, an apology would be quite suitable." The little boy stares down at his feet, "Sorry lady..." Andi Lassiter says, "Please look me in the eye while you apologize." Firestar looks down at the homeless man and tilts her head. "Something I can help you with?" The boy complies, looking at Andi with crosseyed eyes. "Dur, sorry..." The homeless man motions for Firestar to lean down to his level. "Psst, come here... ...I got something to tell ya." Andi Lassiter glances at the police officer then back at the boy, crossing her arms. Kid, you are now officially one strike away from getting Mommy Voice levelled at you. Hot Spot is manning the raffle table, selling off a buttload of tickets. "I think we may have priced these wrong... ...they're selling way too fast!" Firestar chuckles at Hot Spot. "You didn't want them selling that fast?" She says before leaning down towards the homeless man. "hmm?" Markdown suddenly appears behind Hot Spot, holding a datapad. He seems impressed by the figures he's getting already. "Don't second guess yourself, now, Hot Spot. They might be selling so fast BECAUSE they're at just the right price." Hot Spot looks behind him, "Maybe... ...I don't think they can keep this pace up too long..." Firestar says, "why's that, Sugah? don' have enough tickets? We can always get more." "I used to be a big giant robot just like you!" the homeless man whispers to Firestar. Firestar looks over towards the homeless man like he's crazy. "uh huh, sugah. And I used to be a woodsman by the name of Boris." She says quietly before standing back up. "Worry not Hot Spot....the raffle will go off without a hitch." She then looks to Andi. "wanna ride, honey?" The homeless man looks surprised, "Oh, you almost had me there fer a second. No seriously, I used to be Scrapper of the Constructicons!" Markdown scowls skeptically at the homeless person. "Hm. Well, It certainly looks that way, Firestar. Still, let's not on our laurels too early." "I once knew a guy named Boris. He was EEENVEEENCIBLE," the Fish pipes up, after helping himself to some food. As if they weren't already in a frenzy, the raffle line is overloaded with people... ...as is everything else there. The tilt-a-whirl, weigh machine, pie eating contest, and even the dunk tank that hasn't even opened up yet have full lines in front of them. A couple of men in white coats with a straight jacket are combing the crowd, handing out flyers with the homeless man's face on them. Skydive soon has a line at his booth. He smiles happily as each person pays for a ticket and waits for his guess, "Let's see. You are about 5'10" male. Considering your bone structure, body frame and shape and the lean appearance of your midsection I would guess 152.7894 pounds. Give or take a hundreth of a poound, this certainly includes your clothing." As the gentelman's jaw drops Skydive continues, "Your weight would be 57.3 poinds on Mars but also a staggering 359.3 pounds on jupiter. And you favorite fruit is the cherry. Next." Robot T-Rex! is here! Grimlock is HELPING. Grimlock is...not very happy about this. "Me Grimlock no carnival ride!" he protests- despite the large number of children clinging to his dinosaurian back that seem to think otherwise. He rumbles a little bit and sways his tail back and forth as he stomps (carefully!) through the little carnival. Because, face it- getting to ride a giant robot dinosaur for just five bucks? You'd do it too! Firestar smiles to markdown. 'Relax sugah. If you need more, I'll just go and get some more." She says before walking her way back towards the back of the parking lot. She smiles at Skydive's progress.....but then looks at the dunk tank and frowns....but then Grimlock is heard....and she grins. "Grimlock! So good of you to join us, Sugah!" Hot Spot places his hand on his brow, because if he could sweat... ...he'd be wiping away tons of the liquid. "We're down to the last roll Firestar!" he yells out, pointing to the box under the fireworks. "Could you grab some more?" Hound makes the turnoff toward the entrance to the park, stopping several feet beyond the high metal gate, before he transforms into his robot mode. He still has some dents and scorring on his armor but, considering that he was basically a pile of tin yesterday, he's much better off. He lets two families enter first before he steps over the gate and makes his way toward the gathered Autobots at a slow tread to give time for the humans nearby to get out of the way. The fish's head turns (well not really, but you know) as the Dinobot arrives. "Five bucks a ride? That's a loooot of quarters," the fish says, "For 25 bucks can I take him home for a few days?" A man in a white coat approaches Hound with a flyer of a crazy homeless looking man, "Have you seen this guy? He escaped from the institution today." Robot T-Rex! grrhs indignantly at Firestar. "Hnf! Me Grimlock only help 'cuz you Autobots no SHUT UP." he grunts a bit, and even snorts a little bit of fire out of his dino-nose- which causes his passengers to cheer! Admittedly, it DOES look neat. Markdown places his hands on his hips, looking thoughtful. He doesn't want to say he's surprised the Decepticons haven't attacked because he doesn't want to jinx everything. Instead, he chuckles at Grimlock's plight. "C'mon, it's for a good cause, and I'll get you something nice if you keep it up." Skydive breezes his way through the next twenty or so even translating his figures into the metric system for the Europeans who happen to not be famaliar with the US Metric and even translating to different languages for some others. He glances around to see how some of the other booths are coming along. The fish disappears into the nearby natural pond again. It's clear he's rooting around in the mud looking for coins. And he seemed to have a knack for finding them, even in the murky muddy bottom. Pretty soon he resurfaces, with another mouthfull of quarters and other assorted coins. A brassy-looking 8-sided coin drops out onto the ground. "OH look, a loonie! You guys take those, right?" A police officer is eyeing the fish, stealing from a public fountain like that.... Robot T-Rex! hnfs! He trompatromps over to the scaffolding that's set up so one load of passengers can go off...and then another loads on. He looks over at the talking fish and his offers, and he grunts. "Me Grimlock not for sale! Also, me Grimlock no want you stupid Canada money!" Firestar chuckles at Grimlock. "Thanks for your help Grimlock." She says softly as she turns to wonder why the guys in the white coats are handing out fliers. The guy in the white coat just thrusts the flier towards Hound, "Fine, ignore me... ...I'll find him myself." Hound has now joined the rest of the Autobots, turning his head toward Grimlock as he hears the irritated mutterings of the Dinobot leader, before he chuckles and moves forward slowly again before making his way over to the pond and stares down into the surface of the water. "Hey there, Firestar, Grimlock. Whatcha up to?" Hot Spot hands the remaining tickets to Markdown, "Can you handle this? Thanks" he blurts out, not waiting for a reply. Approaching the back of the setup, "Groove, we need more cookies and shepard's pie! We're almost out up here." Markdown blinks, taking the tickets, and stooping down a bit to hand them out. "Uh, how are you people doing?" Robot T-Rex! is loaded up! Mostly. The nice thing about Grimlock-rides is that he doesn't have a set course so much as he wanders wherever he feels like. Which..in this case, happens to be towards Hot Spot- a look of determination on his dino muzzle! "You Hot Spot have pie? Me Grimlock want pie! Where pie? TELL ME GRIMLOCK." The fish gets in line to ride Grimlock. Earlier, during the Olympics, he'd been thwarted in his efforts to obtain a pet Sweep. Maybe he can get a pet Dinobot--well at least for as long as the ride anyway. Andi Lassiter has retired away from rude kids to the booth selling pies -- ones she's been helping back all day. Hot Spot nods to the large dinosaur. "Yes we have pies... ...just wait until you've unloaded your passengers first." The Protectobot Commander approaches the steps for Grimlock's ride and switches the sign to 'Temporarily Out of Service' side. He walks back towards the T-Rex. "Okay, just give these kids a ride... ...then you get pie." Groove drops off the freshly baked goods and restocks Andi's pies. Then returns to the kitchen to make some more. For the most part, the crowd has dissapated somewhat... ...but that doesn't mean there aren't still tons of people here. There is still quite a crowd forming in front of the dunk tank. Firestar can't help but giggle at Grimlock's asking of pie....and how Hot Spot handles it....rather well. She then makes her way over towards the dunk tank...which, by now, has opened.... Robot T-Rex! grrhs at Hot Spot! The resulting growl rattles the footing of the humans clinging precariously along Grimlock's spine. "No!" he says, waving his spindly little arms about. "Me Grimlock want pie now! NOW!" Of course, distracted as he is by yelling (one of Grimlock's favorite activities), he doesn't notice Groove wallking by with a fresh tray. "NOOooooOOOOW!" This is your Military Commander, Autobots. Hot Spot rushes up to Hound, "Great, your just in time!" he jests, handing him a pair of goggles and a snorkle. "It's showtime!" Firestar walks her way over towards Grimlock and puts a finger on his snout. "You're almost done giving these children rides. head over towards the platform, let them off....THEN you'll get your pie, Grimlock. No whining, sugah." She speaks softly so not to 'embarrass' him. The Protectobot Commander whips back around, "Grimlock! One moment. You can't just demand things... ...even if you are a giant mecha dinosaur. Now unload those passengers at once." he demands, pointing a finger and making it very audible and loud; quite the opposite of Firestar's approach. Hound turns toward Hot Spot, a grin spreading across his metallic face, before he looks down at the goggles and snorkle that Hot Spot hands him before looking back up at the Protectobot commander with a grin. "Handing out souvenirs already, Hot Spot? What's up?" "Shepherds pie shouldn't even be called pie," the Fish grumbles, "Same with any false pie that has a 'biscuit' crust! Seriously, what is that? The One True Pie has only nice flaky pastry crust! And people who only put on a top crust? Cheapskates!" Hot Spot twirls back around, taking Hound by the arm and leading him to the back of the dunk tank. "Okay, put those on. Then all you have to do is sit on this here seat... ...sound kosher?" Robot T-Rex! grrhs at Hot Spot. "Me Grimlock no demand 'cuz me dino! Me demand 'cuz me MILITARY COMMANDER! Me Grimlock BOSS OF YOU!" he pokes the Protectocommander none-too-gently in the chest- but then Firestar's shoosh-ing him. "Hnf!" he grunts- but to his credit, doesn't bite her hand off. "...Stupid weak squishy humans." he grumbles-but then starts prowling around the fairgrounds anyway! Skydive glances up from what he is doing watching Grimlock throwing a tantrum. He says to the person next in line, "10-12 dinosaur 25,000 to 35,000 pounds. Eats everything and would weigh 82,740 pounds on jupiter. Can you imagine?" Hound oblingly fastens the goggles and snorkle to his face, the bright plastic green constrasting somewhat sharply with his dark green armor, as he lets Hot Spot lead him toward the seat. "Hey, that sounds like all in fun, but what's so important about that seat?" Hot Spot rushes off before answering Hound's question. Everything seems to be winding down for now, fluctuating and deadpanning. A man in a white coat approaches Firestar, handing out a flier. "Have you seen this man?" Firestar looks at the flier. "Actually, yes I have....said he was a 30 foot tall robot earlier." Hound turns to look at the retreating Hot Spot, a puzzled expression coming over his face, before he turns around to face the chair in which he was directed to sit. He mounts the steps leading to the chair, placing himself inside it, before looking to his left and right as if expecting something to suddenly happen which would require goggle protection. The man in the white coat nods eagerly, "Yeah, goes by the name Scrappy. Guy thinks he was a transformer in a former life, what a nutcase! Anyways, where is the psycho?" The homeless man had a pan of shepard's pie on the ground, rolling in it like he was taking a bath. Robot T-Rex! happens to be passing by the crazyman- and then hnmmms. "You stupid human DUMB! You s'posed to eat that stuff- no roll in it! You CRAZY." he notes with the sagacious wisdom of a robot dinosaur- just loud enough for the lab-coated guy to hear! The Fish pokes the man in the white coat. "Guy you're looking for is over there. Thinks he's a Constructicon. Just follow the smell of contaminated shepherd's pie." The fish points in the direction of the homeless-looking man. Firestar stands up and actaully looks around, cuz...she's 30 feet tall and all. "I saw him near the raffle booth before...." Before Hound can realize what he's 'signed' up for, a baseball team unleashes a salvo of rubber balls at the target. Eventually one hits dead center, dropping the chair and it's passenger into the water below. Scrappy looks up at Grimlock, then over to the man in the white coat. "You'll never take me alive!" he blurts out, rushing into the crowd of people. Robot T-Rex! pauses, even as he stalks on over towards the scaffolding to get shed of his passengers. "Why me Grimlock want take you? You weak and small and smelly!" Hound falls down into the tank with a splash, most of the water spraying up to either side of the tank, but he himself is barely immersed in the water which soaks his armor above the waist....he was so unsuspecting of the sudden assualt by the baseball team that he didn't even have time to put his goggles on. Unbeknowest to anyone, a kid is dumping jello mix into the dunk tank. Firestar giggles and grabs a pie....after, somehow, getting money from a passing man. She then buys a pie...whom she takes over to Grimlock. "Here you go Grimlock!" Robot T-Rex! is quite distracted by Firestar. "Yay! ME Grimlock like pie!" and with that, he grabs the baked delicacy with his stubbly little arms, and scarfs it down in no time at all! He looks quite proud of this fact, at least. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Grimlock wheels around a handy corner, and then, behind him, hi tail sweeps to the side...and neatly through the corner of a nearby building! *SMASH!* People scream and start fleeing accordingly- while others wonder if they missed out on the best-Grimlock-ride ever! "Huh. That building not 'portant, is it?" The men in white coats have spotted Scrappy, and are pursuing him without much good. They wade through the crowd, but the homeless man is crawling on the ground. "I'll beat 'em just like I beat 'em in 'nam!" Scrappy jests, making his way back to the Grimlock ride. It's not hard however, to follow the trail of smeared shepard's pie on the ground. Hound suddenly has more to worry about then the Jell-O congealing around his ankles as he looks up in time to see Gromlock smash his tail against a nearby building. Hound ceases his escape attempts as he turns toward the baseball tema, gesticulating at them, as he amplifies his voice to call out "Hey, all of you, get outta here!" Andi Lassiter is still quite busy helping with the food booth, though grins at Firestar when she purchases a pie for Grimlock. "Say, Groove?" she calls to the Autobot helping with the food. "Could you bring some more napkins with your next trip out?" First Aid seemed to show up once more, about the time to see Grimlock smash into the building, "..Oh primus.." He whispered, before he rushed to the scene with sheer speed. The Protectobot Commander was rubbing his optics when he hears the *SMASH*. Snapping to attention quicker than Blurr could muster, Hot Spot dashes towards it. He folds down into his third mode, the dreaded... ...repair station! With both black miniscule arms, he weaves a forcefield around the immediate vicinity to prevent /most/ of the debris from crashing down on civilians. <> Folding in upon himself, Hot Spot transforms into a Repair Station. Hot Spot successfully activates a powerful protective forcefield around Hot Spot, shielding him from the next attack. Firestar doesn't go crashing after the man...she DOES however, run towards the collapsing building and start to evacuate the people inside. Skydive leaps from his position having been watching Grimlock the whole time...amused. He runs over to help with the evacuation. "Please, if you weigh under 200lbs evacuate this way, anyone over take the shorter exit. Hurry!" Scrappy is using the situation to his advantage, blending into the crowd of people running away from the scene. "Just wait until I'm reunited with my CONSTRUCTICON body! You'll all pay!!!" he barks out, not that he could be heard with everything else going on. First Aid leaps over a fence, his feet bounding against the ground, as he makes it over, dodging to the side as a brick falls down, "Move it people! Lets go!" He watches the people run away from the scene, to only look at the building. "..supports.." He whispers before he hand retracts back and turns into a welding tool. He breaks one of the lamps near by with a hard kick. picks it up and places it against the building, then kneels down and starts to melt the metal to the road to act as a support beam, then does it again, in order to hopefully hold up one side of the building. "..please...stand strong.." Andi Lassiter gasps as Grimlock's tail-swing puts everyone at risk. She's far enough away to not be in the danger area, so she tries to help get people to get clear. "Quickly! This way!" Robot T-Rex! just sort of glances at Hot Spot, unimpressed. "Hrr! Why you Hot Spot tell me Grimlock what to do when you just LAYING DOWN, huh?" even still, he looks to the shaky-building a bit, grunts, and transforms anyway, stomping over to apply his massive strength to keep the thing standing- even he's forced to grunt a bit under the strain of it all! "Hey! Me Grimlock smell something funny..." he muses- and peers downward- apparently, in the chunk he smashed out, there was a gas line- a shifting of Grimlock's metal hand against the metal struts of the building produces a spark...which in turn, produces FIRE! "Uh oh." Grimlock muses...sort of on fire himself, now. He doesn't seem to mind too much. There's a flurry of moving parts, and Grimlock changes to his robot mode! Hound leaps free of the gooey substance, sending globblets of Jell-O flying in all directions, as he lands on his feet outside the tank. He tears the goggles off before hanging them form the back of the chair behind him before turning and transforming into his jeep mode. He drives around the tank, honking his horn to gather attention, as he calls out to the milling crowd of people. "Hey, everybody, follow me and I'll keep the route clear! Anybody's who hurt can ride along! Come on now!" First Aid then watched the fire start and just stared at the fire, "..you have to be kidding me.." He then motioned to people to run toward where Andi was. "Lets move it people!" He actually yells out to the people, as he looks over to Hot Spot, "Sir! We got a fire!" First Aid would do something on this matter, but he moved to playing human traffic director. Though smacking a brick off to the side that nearly threatened a little girl. Once most of the debris has fallen safely, Hot Spot quickly transforms into the Fire Engine mode and sprays Grimlock and the lines with the quick acting sticky goo that is used for fighting fires... ...but it also makes a decent adhesive. <> The Protectobot Commander emits. Firestar runs her way over towards the fire and....thankfully the fire was taken care of. "Aaaaaaugh!" Grimlock says, as he's coated in the dreaded FIRE RETARDANT FOAM. "Me Grimlock hate sticky stuff!" he complains, his optic visor peering out from a coating of the stuff. He then grunts a bit as the building shifts a little, flames beginning to lick at the windows of the building. For the most part, the crowds seem to be fleeing from the park proper well enough- safe, but it's hell on fundraising. Meanwhile, somewhere near the building, there's a panicked-sounding woman yelling out: "My BABY? Where's my BABY?" It's to be expected, at least. Firestar starts leading people out of the parking lot making sure they keep safe. First Aid was about to head inside as Hound called over to him, "And your going to save the cat and the kid?" Firetruck (Hot Spot) quickly realizes it's somewhat futile to operate this way. The leader transforms back into his robot mode, then looks back at the Protectobots. "C'mon guys, we got lives to save!" he yells out, turing forward again and pointing a finger towards the building. Hound would nod if he had a head to nod with at the moment. "You check this crowd over, First Aid, and I'll cover the rest." Grimlock ooofs. "You Autobots hurry up!" he says, shifting his shoulder a bit- there's a crumbling bit of masonry that bounces off Grim's head, and he hnnfs. "Stupid human building no built right! Me Grimlock bet it fall over SOON!" Hot Spot shouts, "Protectobots, MERGE to form Defensor!" With a shudder of metal, the Protectobots undergo a stunning transformation and combine into the mighty form of Defensor! Defensor has arrived. Andi Lassiter sends the last of the volunteers to evacuate toward Firestar with everyone else then runs over toward the Protectobots. "What can I do to help?" Whirl (shockwavelite) pages: Oh my god, i completely forgot about the tp The hulking combined transformer known as Defensor rushes up to the building, <> the lummox bellows out as it bear hugs the building. One arm however is wrapped around Grimlock. And where has the Fish been this whole time? He dived into the pond for more quarters. He still hasn't come back up yet. Maybe he's mined out most of the discarded coins already. Firestar smiles to Andi. "seems Defensor has things in hand." Grimlock is hugged! He's...not particularly thrilled about this. "HEY! HEY! ME GRIMLOCK NO HUGGY GUY! ME KING!" he protests- though against the Gestalt-grab, there's little that he can do but waggle his feet from beneath the First-Aid arm- rather comically, to boot. Meanwhile, the panicking mother...continues to panic! "Where is my baby! Won't someone go in there and get him out before an even bigger robot smashes the building?" Hound shifts from his military jeep mode which a smooth shifting of gears and the clunk of his rocket launcher slotting into place, a sudden apperance of limbs, and a continually affable face. Skydive continues to idly wave people along as Defensor shows up to help. He watches Defensor distractedly... Firestar ponders. "See if we can't find anyone else to...." She then looks to the building. "Andi.......apparently there's a baby inside of the building. HOLD THE BUILDING DEFENSOR!" Defensor says, "HOLDING!" Grimlock says, "NO HUGGING!" Firestar leans forward and transforms into her hovertruck mode! ROLL OUT! Andi Lassiter looks back at Firestar, then hastily gets her cellphone/radio out of her pocket as she dashes toward the building. "Where inside?" she asks the femme through the radio. Suddenly the Fish pops out of the water. He deposits a load of coins onto the ground and oh-sh**s as he sees the building on the verge of collapsing. Another scream of "MY BABY" alerts him. Well, a floating fish can get there faster... Firestar transforms into her hovertruck mode. "GET IN!" And she waits for Andi to get barely in before she literally rams her way in. Even though Defensor doesn't intend to, he pretty much hugs Grimlock's face into the building. Grimlock mmmrph! Oh, he's going to have WORDS after this. Oh yes. The building begins to sway a little in Defensor's arms, so the gestalt readjusts his grip to gain some better ground. Inadvertently, it releases Grimlock from the gestalt bear hug. Andi Lassiter lets Firestar help her get into the building faster, then looks around trying to get her bearings. She spot the 'air-fish' and calls out to him, "You're faster than me, can you go ahead and check the upper levels for a human infant?" Grimlock is released! "Hrr! That better!" he says, and stomps away from the building, brushing fire-retardant foam from his frame. "Me Grimlock hate this stuff!" he says, and looks at the building that he kinda sorta made collapse. "Me Grimlock think you Autobots handle this good." he says. He's an ENCOURAGING leader! Firestar gets into the building faster all right....by ramming through the wall..... The Fish bobs, as if trying to nod. "Yeah!" he says, and floats high up, levitating to a nearby open window. He darts inside and starts looking around for the missing child. Suddenly the building shifts weight, circling on it's axis. The gestalt tries his best to handle the structure, but it's not an easily managable situation. <> Skydive continues to hand back until something happens that he can help with... Firestar stops into the middle of the floor. 'Andi....see if you can't find the baby!" Andi Lassiter says, "I'm trying!" She is rushing from room to room as fast as she can, listening for the infant as much as looking." The Fish tracks by wails. He can hear a child crying, and he homes in on it. The room the kid is in seems to have a cracking ceiling. A bubble of what seems to be water appears and expands around the fish, keeping pieces of ceiling from hitting the child. "IN HERE!" the fish calls out to Andi. Firestar zips over towards the fish and the baby. yeah...she's on a cushion of air. Once Andi Grabs the baby and gets in....she slams the door on her own and rams her way through the wall. <> Andi Lassiter looks up as the fish yells and races to find him. Finally... she finds both fish and infant and scoops up the baby, just in time for Firestart to swoop in. Andi Lassiter clambers into the hovertruck and scoots over as far as she can. "Get in!" she tells the fish. The Fish dispells the bubble, then darts into Firestar's cab. From there, he reinitiates his bubble, causing it to form around the female Autobot. "That should keep us safe," he says. With the go ahead, Defensor pushes the structure upwards with emense strength... ...the building sits motionless for only a second. Before gravity has a chance to take hold, the lummox activates a forcefield around it. Even as a precaution, he stands himself behind the structure in case it rips open from the stress. The building crashes into the walls of the bubble, stretching it out as a trashbag with too much in it... ...but surprisingly enough, it holds. The structure inside it however ruptures to peices. Firestar drifts to a stop in the parking lot and lets out Andi and the....fish....then transforms. Skydive continues to stand at the distance. He covers a small group watching from a fwe pieces of debris. Andi Lassiter tries to soothe the panicking infant after climbing out of the hovertruck. After just a moment the infant's mother is there, and she returns the child to her. "Thank you for your help..." She's not sure what to call the 'air-fish'. Defensor lowers the protective green bubble to the ground, <> he bellows, about to release the forcefield. "Call me Koby Fish!" the fish says. Releasing the protective bubble, Defensor lets out a cloud of dust and it slowly rolls into the area. But before it completely envelops the civilians, the gestalt manages to whip up a quick barrier over them. Defensor separates into the individual Protectobots. Andi Lassiter shields her face from the dust, then realizes she doesn't have to. So instead she watches the remains of the building settle with a disappointed sigh. "So much for the funds raised." The Fish looks around. "I could always search more ponds for quarters that idiots threw in there," he suggests. Hot Spot emerges from the gestalt shaking his head. "No no, I don't think quarters will solve our fiscal crisis... ..." Blades says, "I do." The Protectobot Commander looks at the crowd assembled. "My deepest apologies to those gathered here... ...it was not my intention to threaten the lives of /anyone/ by our get together. I only hope that our efforts today will cover the costs that we have caused." Blades nudges Hot Spot, "Take the fish's money. That might cover it." To the suprise of Hot Spot, the civilian crowd starts going wild. They begin chanting, "DEFENSOR!...DEFENSOR!...DEFENSOR!...DEFENSOR!...DEFENSOR!" over and over again. Little children are clamoring the group for autographs, as well as photographers snapping pictures left and right. One or two women have even decided to flash the Protectobots. First Aid was perhaps taken by the cheering of the people and then when some women flash them he laughs softly. "..Humans.. and there strange costums.." Blades leans over and throws an arm around First Aid, "Lighten up, docbot!" He waves frantically to the women, toothy grin on his face. Glancing at Blades, First Aid's visor flickers, "I am lightened up.. just.." First Aid stops as a kid comes up to him asking for his autograph. He kneels down slowly and carefully, then slowly signs his name, amazingly in very small print, big enough for a human to read, "..There you go.." The Fish decides it's time to be on his way. "I'll see if I can find you some more spare change. Heck, I heard a guy bought a pickup truck with a wheelbarrow load of quarters." And with this, he floats away, off into the sunset. Hot Spot just stands there in awe, staring over at the crowd of people. In the face of this destruction, they are still clammoring with joy and excitement. Maybe it's over just the chaos in general... ...but The Protectobot Commander let's the thought slide off 'his back' and instead basks in the shouts of hard earned glory. Gathering his troops together for the perfect shot for the morning's paper, Hot Spot lifts one arm in the air. "How about gang, one for the morning edition?" he jests; turning back to the crowd. His fist bobs up and down as the Protectobots chant three times. "TO PROTECT AND SERVE!"